Bower Award & Prize for Achievement in Science - Nominations Welcome

The 2016 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science

Theme: Exoplanets

Prize: $250,000 USD

Deadline for Submissions: May 31, 2015

The Franklin Institute seeks nominations for the 2016 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science of individuals who have made significant contributions to the search for extrasolar planets. Nominations should recognize fundamental contributions that played an important role in the ultimately successful search. Such contributions may include goal-oriented analysis of the search options, the design of telescopes and spectrographs, data analysis, and integrative scientific leadership. Nominations should clearly indicate the scientific impact of the nominee’s work, whether conceptual, technical, or integrative.

Eligibility:

This is an international competition for individuals whose work has had a significant impact on the successful search for extrasolar planets.

This award and prize must be presented to an individual, as specified by the will of Henry Bower.

Candidates for the award must be living, and the winner must participate in The Franklin Institute Awards Week programs, to be held April 18–21, 2016 in Philadelphia.

Nomination Procedures:

An email of intent to nominate sent to awards@fi.edu by April 30, 2015 is appreciated.

Nominations must be submitted in English and must include:

Name, occupational address, phone and email of nominee

Name, occupational address, phone and email of nominator

Curriculum vitae of nominee and bibliography of significant and relevant publications

Proposed citation limited to 50 words

Narrative statement describing the nominee’s qualifications for the award

Four confidential letters of support requested by the nominator, sent directly to The Franklin Institute Awards Office

Deadline for completed nominations is May 31, 2015

All nominations and supporting letters should be addressed to Frederic M. N. Bertley, Ph.D. and mailed or emailed to:

The Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science was established in 1990 through a bequest from Philadelphia chemical manufacturer and philanthropist Henry Bower (1896–1988). The award, gold medal, and cash prize of $250,000 are presented annually to a distinguished member of the international scientific community for work in a prescribed discipline that changes each year. The Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science and the Bower Award for Business Leadership are the newest in The Franklin Institute’s long history of recognizing and encouraging achievement in science, technology, and leadership. Through The Franklin Institute Awards, which today includes the Benjamin Franklin Medals, awarded in seven areas of science and engineering, and the Bower Awards, the Institute has honored more than 2,000 luminaries since 1824, representing the greatest minds of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. The roster of Franklin Institute laureates reads like a Who’s Who of science and invention, including eminent scientific and technological minds such as Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Rudolf Diesel, Marie and Pierre Curie, Orville Wright, Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, Enrico Fermi, Frank Lloyd Wright, Marshall Warren Nirenberg, Stephen Hawking, Allen Newell, Martin Rees, Ralph Cicerone, John Mather, Marvin Minsky, Paul Baran, Jane Goodall, Gordon Moore, Elizabeth Blackburn, Steven Squyres, Sandra Faber, Bill Gates, Nicola Cabibbo, JoAnne Stubbe, Dean Kamen, Jerry Nelson, Rashid Sunyaev, Subra Suresh, and Alexander Dalgarno.